'Work to do': Scotland given clear message amidst stars aligning prospect as key man misses out

After an absence of 27 years, hopes are high that Scotland can reach next summer’s tournament in North America in front of an expectant home crowd at Hampden Park.

Denmark would already have qualified but for an unexpected draw at home against Belarus on Saturday night. The surprise result has given Scotland the chance to qualify for a World Cup at the national stadium for the first time since 1989. The only other time since then when they have qualified for a World Cup they did so at Celtic Park, following a win over Latvia.

Unlike in 1989, when a draw against Norway was good enough, Scotland know they must win. Clarke reported that Billy Gilmour, injured while playing for Napoli earlier this month, has not recovered in time to join the squad. “Everyone else is fit and ready to go,” he said.

Denmark have been hit by a sickness bug although only former St Mirren midfielder Anders Dreyer hasn’t travelled to Glasgow. Victor Froholdt, the 19-year-old Porto midfielder who has been linked with Manchester United, is expected to start for the Danes. The teenager is highly rated in his homeland and elsewhere and was left out of against Belarus on Saturday because he is on a booking. He is very much now needed against Scotland.

The Danes have a history of getting a result away from home when required to do so, including when drawing 0-0 with Serbia this time last year in Leskovac to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Nations League. They also reached Euro 2020 with a 1-1 draw against Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

Bearing in mind Scotland failed to secure the point against Greece they thought was required to take automatic qualification to the last day, Clarke was asked if knowing Scotland three points was a non-negotiable might help the players’ mindset.

‘We know we have to win the game’

“It’s one of those questions you can never really answer,” he said. “We know we have to win the game and there could come a time in the game when we have to go a little bit gung-ho or have to be a little bit more adventurous to chase the game if you need to win it. But then you have to be careful you don’t lose it.

“If you are going for a draw you probably get towards the end of the game thinking you have to shut up shop a little bit which is also dangerous. So no, we know what we have to do and hopefully we can do it.”

Scotland have the comfort of knowing they have a guaranteed play-off in the Spring. But they lost at home to Ukraine at the semi-final when they were last involved at this stage before Qatar in 2022. Clarke was asked about the growing belief that this could finally be Scotland’s time after such a lengthy exile.

“There’s definitely work to do,” he said. “We’re playing a pot one team and they’ll be hurting because they missed an opportunity to be top of the group already. There’s always another game. People can speculate and say that there are other bodies looking after us. But we have to look after ourselves.

“The players have got a job to do.,” he added. “If they are not nervous or excited by the challenge ahead then they wouldn’t be at this level.

“They understand the magnitude of the game and what it means but they just have to prepare for a game of football and make sure they are focussed on how we want to play it. They have to be focussed on what Denmark might do. That’s our job as a coaching staff to give them an idea. And then, when they cross the white line, they have to go out and play. If they go out and play like they can play, then I believe they are good enough to get the result that we need.”